Preserving ethnic culture

(VOVworld)- In the context of international integration, cultural exchanges and tourism development, preserving and promoting traditional festivals of ethnic minority groups is of great importance. Much effort has been made to promote ethnic cultures to attract more tourists. Gau Tao festival is a major ethnic minority festival in Duong Thuong commune, Yen Minh district, Ha Giang province. At this festival, local people show their gratitude to God for blessing them with bumper crops. This is one of several festivals and folk rituals recreated at the Vietnam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism. Giang Mi Phu is of the Mong ethnic group in Duong Thuong commune: “We showcase the Gau Tao festival in this village in the hope that more efforts will be made to promote the festival to help people across the country learn about the beauty of Mong ethnic minority people”. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has begun a project to preserve and promote the culture of Vietnamese ethnic minority groups until 2020. Under the project, more than 50 festivals of ethnic minority groups have been restored. They include the Gau Tao festival of the Mong, the Long Tong festival of the Tay, Fire Dancing of the Pa Then, Xen Ban and Xen Muong of the Thai, the Ooc Om Bok of the Khmer, and the Gong festivals of ethnic minority groups in the Central Highlands. Many cultural exchanges have been held from the central to the grassroots level. They include Culture, Sports and Tourism Days…